Thursday 4 April 2013 11.02 EDT
First published on Thursday 4 April 2013 11.02 EDT

Zarkandar made up for a lacklustre display at last month's Cheltenham Festival with a battling success in the Aintree Hurdle on day one of the Grand National meeting. Paul Nicholls' six-year-old wore blinkers for the first time and was sent off in front to make it a test as he stepped up in distance by half a mile and those changes proved most effective.

An 11-2 shot after his disappointing fourth place in the Champion Hurdle, Zarkandar responded gamely when headed by The New One and was half a length in front at the line. Thousand Stars, narrowly beaten in this race by Oscar Whisky last year, was a length further back in third.

Explaining his use of the blinkers, Paul Nicholls, the winning trainer, said: "He's just always been that bit lazy. Last Saturday morning, he worked at home and he worked really frigging ordinary. So Clifford [Baker, head lad] and I put them on him on Tuesday morning and it was like watching two different horses."

Nicholls added that Zarkandar would "definitely" be stepped up to three miles next season, when he will presumably be tackling the races formerly dominated by Nicholls' Big Buck's before injury struck in December.

Ruby Walsh, riding Zarkandar, was enjoying a fourth success in the race. Mixed with the pleasure of success, he is also likely to be relieved to have come through it uninjured, as he has twice missed the Grand National after nasty falls in the Aintree Hurdle in recent years.

Nigel Twiston-Davies, trainer of The New One, was deflated by defeat but consoled himself with the thought that his horse, winner of a novice race at the Festival, had proved that he belongs in top-class races. "We've got a very nice horse, that's the main thing," he said.

Nicholls had been out of luck earlier, when his Silviniaco Conti was only third as favourite for the Betfred Bowl. The chestnut had been cruising before falling in last months' Gold Cup but made mistakes here before running on to be beaten less than two lengths.

The race went to First Lieutenant, winning his first race of the season after several excellent efforts in high-quality contests. He was ridden by Bryan Cooper, the young Irishman who made a name for himself with three Festival winners.

"He jumped really well, which is a big help," Cooper said. "He was running snatches but I knew he'd stay, I didn't want to go to the front too soon. I winged the last two. He's fierce tough, he gives you all you need at the end of it.

"I never thought I'd be sitting here after having three winners at Cheltenham and coming back here to win a big race, it's a dream come true."

Nicholls said of Silviniaco Conti: "Having had a fall, he was a little bit hesitant today. He made a mistake at a really crucial time and got pushed wide and stayed on strongly. But we can end on a good note and look forward to next season."